Making Coffee from Animal Poop

Continuing with Bali, and considering the amount of shit I am getting from the new ‘bosses’ assigned to me in this bloody project, I’m putting a blog post on some animal poop coffee.

Kopi Luwak (or Civet Coffee) is a famous coffee found in Indonesia. I’ve heard of Kopi Luwak for a long time but have never tried it. Heck, I thought it was some kind of a myth, or an urban legend, because who’d believe that you can make coffee out of some cat shit?!?! But Kopi Luwak is exactly that! It is made from partly fermented coffee beans collected from the faeces / poop of the Asian palm civet who eats coffee cherries for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So, it ain't a cat after all (whew, ...know how bad cat shit smells?) Now who was it that told me it was from a friggin jungle cat???

The civet's poop are collected to retrieve the undigested coffee beans (which are actually the seeds of the coffee cherries). They then clean it, fry it and heck, do whatever they do, to make coffee beans drinkable. Then they sell it as the most expensive coffee in the friggin world! That’s the story of Kopi Luwak, and here’re the photos of yours truly finally trying a cup o’ cat shit coffee. Enjoy!


Kopi Luwak, fancy a cup?


Enjoying a cuppa


Coffee, no TEA flavours of all varieties (what's tea doing in a coffee shop?)


Preparing some coffee tea


No, these are not coffee cherries, they're cocoa beans, for making chocolate. Why is it here? Beats me. But they look nice, and green, ain't it?




Tegal Sari Luwak Coffee, on the road between Mengwi and Bedugul, Bali, Indonesia


Frying some coffee beans


The source of all that fuss, the Asian palm civet.

Rain on a Holy Lake

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, Bedugul, Bali

Since we’re on the topic of gloomy lakes, I might as well post this.

Once upon a time (2016), we visited hot and humid Bali. Then we went up the mountains and it was raining dogs and cats! This was the day it rained dogs and cats. Was it nice? It was. For a cool break. But not for the photos.

This Pura (temple) is a water temple. In Bali, there are sea temples, mountain temples, water temples, etc. Water temples are located on the shores of lakes or canals (obviously). Besides being places of worship, water temples also play an important part in the local irrigation system where the priests typically have authority to allocate water to the paddy fields around the area. That makes one helluva powerful priest, yeah?




Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, Bali, Indonesia

Danu (Lake) Bratan, by the way, is a volcano crater lake, i.e. it’s on the crater of a friggin volcano! But don’t worry, it’s extinct.








Temple grounds, Pura Ulun Danu Bratan


Whoa, what’s that?


Look at the rain!


“This rain is fun, for eating my hands!” – 17 month old Jayden in Bali


This was the place we stopped for lunch on the way to the temple from Taman Ayun – Warung Soto Ayam Cak Mitirr


The Balinese countryside, from the Soto Ayam warung (stall / restaurant)

And there, another quick picture post done!

Life on a Mystical Island

Beach at Nusa Dua, with a view of a volcano (I think) in the distance …I wouldn’t be surprised if that was Lombok, the neighbouring island

Since we’re at Bali, I might as well continue, hehe. Here’re glimpses of what we did in Nusa Dua and Kuta in 2016. By the way, today happens to be Bali's New Year, Nyepi, the Day of Silence, where everything's closed and no work or play is allowed. Even the airport and internet are shut, for 24 friggin hours!! Don't believe me? Google it!

There, another short post done! Hah!


1.5 years old Jayden, at our hotel in Nusa Dua, the Tanjung Sari Inn


The courtyard at Tanjung Sari Inn, Nusa Dua, Bali


The hotel shrine …every hotel has its shrine!


The neighbourhood temple ….every street has its temple, …or maybe not, but temples are all over the place in Bali


Jayden in the hotel room. Notice semi-nude Balinese lady in the painting? You’ll only see that on paintings…


Ngurah Rai Airport, the only airport in Bali, the one that will be friggin CLOSED, on Nyepi, the Day of Silence, which happens to be today! (See previous post)


Justin posing with a Garuda, Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, Indonesia


Taking a break in Kuta, at the Mamma Mia Restaurant


The food’s finally here – Fish & Chips for Justin, Mixed Seafood for Mommy, and Crispy Duck with Rice for yours truly, something like that, but it’s not cheap


Now that’s more like it, Lobster! And cheap! At Bamboo Corner, Kuta – if you’re spoilt for choice, pick this place!


And my favourite Balinese dish is …Babi Guling, roasted pork prepared in many styles, one of my favourite pork dishes in the world, I’d say – There’re countless warungs (food stalls) selling babi guling, but this picture is from a stall on the way to Tanah Lot, called Men Agus near the junction of Jl Raya Canggu and Jl Batu Mejan

The Swing Garden

Pura Taman Ayun, Mengwi, Bali, Indonesia

Whoa! It’s March already! 2017 seems like only yesterday!?! Chinese New Year’s come and gone, but March is also a season of New Years and festivals, haha, thanks to the diversity of humankind! Thank you God, for coming in so many different ways, and for making us with so many varieties of traditions and believes! The world would be so dull if everyone was of one race and one belief.

Here’re pictures of a temple in Bali, Pura Taman Ayun. Pura is the Balinese word for temple. I dunno what Taman Ayun is in Balinese, but in Malay ‘taman’ means ‘garden’ and ‘ayun’ means ‘to swing.’ I’ve no idea why it’s called ‘swing garden’, I didn’t see one swing in the whole place, or anything swinging, except for the tree branches, when there’s a breeze.

Anyway, Bali celebrates its biggest festival, its New Year, in March, a day of silence, called Nyepi. This is the day that no one’s allowed on the streets or beaches, and even the airport (and there’s only one in Bali) is CLOSED!! (Talk about extreme!) No, we weren’t in Bali on Nyepi. We arrived about 2 weeks after Nyepi in 2016, …fortunately.

By the way, Nyepi falls on the same day as the New Years of some Hindu communities in India, for example, Maharashtrian New Year, Gudi Padwa and Telugu New Year, Ugadi.

Enjoy!


A Gateway at Mengwi Town, Badung Regency, Bali


Family picture, Taman Ayun, Mengwi, Bali






Taman Ayun Temple, Mengwi, Badung Regency, Bali










The gardens around Pura Taman Ayun


Alas Kedaton Monkey Forest – What the heck, I might as well put this in. Alas Kedaton isn’t part of Taman Ayun. Heck, it ain’t even in the same Badung Regency, but it is nearby, just about 7km away. It’s filled with monkeys, and bats, if you like that sort of thing. I dunno what it is with monkey forests!?! They’re all over Bali. The locals (or maybe it’s the tourists) must really love monkeys…


Alas Kedaton Temple, Tabanan Regency, Bali, Indonesia


Justin and the bats, c’mon, go nearer, they don’t bite, …or do they? Alas Kedaton, Bali

The Bond of Brothers

‘Helping’ Mommy pack for a trip to Jordan, Dec 2015

I’ve posted photos of Justin, and photos of Jayden, but rarely of the two boys together. So, here’re some photos of them together. They squabble most of the time, but sometimes, they’re really sweet with one another. These precious times are what every parent would like to see, I believe. I hope they remember the bond of brotherhood, stay close to one another and look out for each other for as long as they live.


Stuck in Bahrain Airport, on transit from Amman, Jordan back to Dubai, Dec 2015


Luckily, there’s some shade, Taman Ayun Temple, Bali, Indonesia, Mar 2016


What the boys are up to when their Mommy shops, DragonMart, Jul 2016




Fooling around in the hotel room in Isfahan, Iran, Dec 2016




This fun is freezing! Velayat Rud, Alborz Province, Iran, Dec 2016


Justin loves hot baths, Jayden ummm so-so, (he’s scared of water), May 2017


Savvy in matching outfits, May 2017


Sharing a pizza, DragonMart, Jun 2017


In lazy mode, thanks to the telly …at least they’re quiet and not making more mess, Aug 2017


Awww… this place stinks! At ‘Smelly Beach’ (beside Barracuda Wine Shop), Umm Al Quwain, UAE, Sep 2017


Another set of matching outfits! Thanks to Mommy. At Mirdif City Centre, Sep 2017


What izit with sand that kids are crazy about?!? At the public playground near our house, International City, Dubai, Oct 2017

By the way, Jayden’s started school in January. Here’s an update on Jayden’s baby language before he grows up and it all disappears – Lelo (yellow), Shimish (finish), Vegeble (vegetable), Mumber (number), Simima (cinema), Excamador (excavator), Tranmowers (Transformers), Acabraca (Abracadabra), Open Semeni (Open Sesame).

And here’re a couple of songs. Yes, he sings! Unlike his brother! “Twinkle, twinkle little star, haiyu haiyu little star!” And “Let it go, let it go, here I stand and here I stay, brother Jan (let the storm rage on), the cold body anyway (the cold never bothered me anyway), deng! (that’s the sound of the door closing at the end of the song in the video).”